In death

Have you ever noticed that in someone's death we realize our own mortality? How we are all just a moment away from it?

In the moments and days after a person's death, we speculate about what ifs, whys, why nots, and all the things that made this person who they were. We find ourselves drawn to the fact that we didn't get a proper goodbye, that unfinished business remains, about the last words we spoke to someone and we cling to this because we believe it's all we haev left. We have guilt, shame, anger, denial, and sadness all rolled into one. It's weird how in one person's death we find ourselves being self-reflective.

I received some disturbing news this past Monday. A thirty-year-old cousin of mine had committed suicide, leaving behind a wife and children. Although distance separated him from our family for a time, we all feel this loss deeply and mourn his loss and his family. I realized that we spend a lifetime analyzing a person's life, scrutinizing their every move, and upon their death, turn to all the shouldas, wouldas, couldas of our own life. Why don't we do this self-reflection all the time? Living each moment as if it were our last, cherishing those around us in the moments we have WITH them rather than in the days we have without.

To my dear cousin, Joey Pizur. Gone, but not forgotten.

Random Thoughts...

I thought I would post some random thoughts since I don't really have anything collective to say...

Things or People I wish would go away:

MLB Baseball, particularly the self-aggrandizing All-Star game (okay, maybe ONLY the All-Star game should go away)

Brett Favre

Tammy Sousa, the weather lady on Fox News...cannot STAND her, truthfully

Clutter in my house

Recent Movies I have watched:

Legally Blonde (good, even Jim laughed)

Legally Blonde II (turned off near the end, NOT good)

Meet the Spartans (funny, but jokes are slightly overplayed and it was a LITTLE on the ridiculous side)

Alvin and the Chipmunks (What I saw of it, FUNNY)

The Bucket List (okay...my parents happened to also be watching it at their house on the same night Jim and I were)

Definitely, Maybe (In short, I...Love...Ryan Reynolds)

Things I have done in the last 24 hours:

Worked for 7.5 hours

Cleaned the kitchen (but not the floor or stove yet)

Laundried the bathroom towels

Watched Legally Blonde II

Made Dinner (Frozen Pizza and Salad)

Slept for 11.5 HOURS!! (FOR REAL)

Best Dawgs in Town.

During our Sunday School class yesterday, we got into a bit of a debate. Actually, prior to Aldo walking in, we were all in general agreement: Portillo's food rocks! Virtually anything you get from Portillo's is an experience that makes the slightly higher prices worth it. The only thing I begged Portillo's to remove was the Grilled Tuna steak sandwich, which I likened to McDonald's and their filet-o-fish sandwich during Lent.

Then, Aldo put a kink in our plan. After heralding Portillo's as the king of all things dawgs and food, Aldo mentions a place called Fat Johnnie's Daughter (south of I-80 and FAR from Chi-cawgo). He swears by the dawgs - that they are the best and that Portillo's is "okay," a little higher priced and the food is decent. I guffawed and vowed to have a "dawg-off." However, this becomes a little difficult because Portillo's uses the infamous poppyseed buns (which assist in making "the dawg) and so it would be clear to any user which was which.

Two weeks from yesterday, we're heading to BOTH places and surveying them within a few hours. We will have our own virtual taste test and see just how they match up...something tells me Fat Johnnie's Daughter may not be up to snuff. If you're interested in attending our feast, let me know and I'll be happy to include you!! Your thoughts on this debate?

Oh and the afternoon was topped off when Pastor Flattery came in - surely he would agree that Portillo's was the better choice! I asked him what he really enjoyed at Portillo's - his choice? The tuna steak sandwich...we all make mistakes sometimes!!! just kidding.

Date Night.

Jim and I go out together frequently. That's what happens when you're married. However, it's not very often that we go out for a "date night." I decided to take my husband out for a movie last night and he picked up the tab for dinner.

Our adventure started at Subway. With a footlong, a six-inch, and two bottles of water (one to sneak into the theater), we were all set! We then went to the movie theater. I was set on seeing Wall-E, but we also wanted to see Get Smart. I made a split-second decision and opted for Get Smart...a few minutes later, we regretted this decision (a few steps from the ticket booth) and so Jim went to exchange our tickets for Wall-E. It was 6:08 p.m., but the cashier gave us the tickets for the 6:00 p.m. showing...I had wanted to see the previews and not miss a thing!!

Jim went back to the cashier and exchanged our tickets AGAIN for the 6:45 p.m. showing. With time in hand, we ran to Target and picked up a box of nerds and our favorite, a bag of peanut butter M&Ms and snuck them into my purse. We made it back in time for a quick bag of popcorn and headed to our usual seats (right behind the handicapped railing). We saw only ONE movie in the previews that peaked our interest, "Bolt," an animated flick with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus as the voices.

In short, our evening was fun-filled and exactly like us! We both agreed Wall-E was a great choice, but understandably, portions of it would go over a child's head. (As we could tell, when one child repeatedly asked, "What happened? What happened? What happened?") An adventurous evening capped off with an 8:55 p.m. bedtime for me - what could be better?

Oh...

and Happy 30th Birthday, PErik!!